Machine plant for tamping railway ties or sleepers



H. CHRISTIANSEN.

MACHINE PLANT FOR'TAMPING RAILWAY TIES 0R SLEEPERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJT, 1921.

1,408,442, Patented Mar. 7, 1922. J;

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

MACHINE PLANTIFOR TAMPING RAILWAY TIES OR SLEEPERS.

:i sca ars.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Application filed August 17, 1921. Serial No. 493,140.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L, 1313.)

To. aid whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hnrnnrorr CrrnrsrrensEN, a citizen of Germany, residing at Pinne berg, 8O Fahltskamp, Germany, have, invented new and useful Improvements in Machine Plants for Tamping Railway Ties or Sleepers, of which the following is a specification and for which I have filed applications for patent in Germany, filed Auust 7th, 1917, Patent 315064; England, hled July 9th, 1918, Patent13012l; France, filed July 11th, 1918, Patent 516929; Belgium, filed July 16th, 1918, Patent 273574;; Sweden, filed July 28th, 1919, not yet patented; Switzerland, filed Aug. 30th, 1919, Patent 84867 Finland, filed Nov. 13th, 1919,

Patent 8070; Norway, filed Dec. th, 1919,

Patent'31196; Italy, filed June 21st, 1920, not yet patented; Canada, filed July 9th, 1920, Patent 206804; India, filed July 23rd, 1920, Patent 6013/; Japan, filed Sept. 9th, 1920, not yet patented.

This invention relates to a machine plant for tamping railway ties or sleepers with the aid of a mechanical, tamping device in which a striking member or tamping tool that is made to strike against the road material packed under the sleepers receives strokes from a portable operating mechanism.

The driving of tamping devices of this description presents difficulties or" a special kind, which are due to the requirement that the driving motor shall not interfere with the traific on the railroad more than is absolutely necessary. To meet this requirement electro-pneumatic tamping devices were de vised and each device was driven by an clectromotor carried on the back of a work man. The electric current was derived from an oil-driven dynamo set up beside the rail track and which supplied the current for several tamping' devices.

ifolcl transformations of power-oil engine, dynamo, electro-motor, mechanical crank drive, pneumatic drive of the striking pistoninv0lved the loss of considerable power. The flexible shaft for driving the crank by the electro-motor was a frequent cause of trouble.

Considerable progress was made when, instead of electro-pneumatically driven tamping tools, tampin devices were constructed in which the striking pistons were propelled by oscillating air columns. A motor-driven air pump, or a so-called pulsator for pro- The load carried by the workman was troublesome. The manducing the oscillating air columns was installed beside the railway track, and this pulsator supplied power simultaneously to a number of tamping devices. I

But with both forms of drive, with the electro-pneumatic and the oscillating air column, it was necessary to install a heavy power plant beside the track, which, during the progress of the tamping work along the track and in consequence of the limited length of the supply pipes, had to be shifted from time to time. F or this reason special cars with cross-rails, that could be extended out from the car, were built on which the power plantcould be transported to the job in hand.

According to the invention each tamping machine or tool driven by oscillating aircolumns is connected to its own power machine, which is portable and may be shifted along the sleepers of the track itself by hand as required during the progress of the work;

This machine is constructed in such man- .ner and of such smallheight that there is sufiicient space for it beneath a passing train and the track so that it may be used on the open track even in places of-the heaviest trafiic. An advantage of the pulsating air system over the ordinary compressed air system used for similar purposes is that much less power is needed, and in comparison with other systemse. g. that of direct drive by flexible telescope shafts, which actuate a spring striking devicethe pulsating air system works surer and is more reliable. By operating with pulsating air it is moreover possible to give the driving air pump a speed which is in proper keeping with that of small combustion engines, and a great advantage of thelatter for the solution of the present problem is that the transport of fuel (about 6 liters for a whole working day) is rendered easy, which is of great importance, since the carrying of burdens along a railway track is ir some.

Since the plant is easily portable, it can be used anywhere on the road and independently of any source of power, it is an entirely self-contained unit in which the source of power is included and is always ready for use. On account of its small weight (about 410 kgs. in all) it can be carried by two men,this being of vital importance for the practical use of such machines on account of the considerable distances irom their place of storage to the job and Patented Mar. *7, 1922.

because of the inconvenient walking along the rail tracks.

An example 01 the plant is shown in the drawing, in which like parts are similarly designated.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a small power outfit that is capable of being shifted along the sleepers or rail ties, one of these outlits belonging to each tamping device.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a tamping device at work and driven by an outfit according to Fig. 1. V

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the track and the power outfit on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

'lheentire driving plant or power outfit is fixed upon a low sled. The two runners 2/- ot the sled are angle-irons held on edge by a transverse plate. The runners 12 are of such length that they rest upon several sleepers at once; The sled is guided by rollers n along the head of the rail and. may be lifted from the sleepers and carried: by handles 72 Stones or pieces of road material that may be lying on the sleepers are pushedaside by the edge of the angle-irons a.

All of the parts belonging to the power out-tit are fixed beside each other uponthe sled, these parts including: the fuel vessel or tank a, the fuel pipe Z) with a tap or cock, the vaporizer c, the cylinder (Z, valves, gearing, etc., of the combustion engine with horizontal cylinder, the tan (2 for cooling the combustion cylinder, the mechanical lubricating device 7 for lubricating the piston and driving parts,3ete., the oil pipe 9 including a cock, the oil tank h, the magnets 2', the air pump is for producing the pulsating air columns, the gear casing Z with enclosed gear, etc, fly wheel, etc, the exhaust pipe m of the combustion. engine.

The most elevated part of the outfit is 195 millimeters, which measurement corresponds to the available clear space between the ties and the trains. The outfit can therefore be used not only at the side of the track but also between the rails. With the aid of the four handles a the outfit can be easily carried by two men. When working it rests upon the ties and bears against the head of the rail through the medium of the two, guide rollers of the sled. The double hose serves to conduct the pulsating air columns tothe camping machine 9 (see Fig. 2). The chain 0 arranged at the front of the sled enables the workmen attending to the tamping machine 9 to pull.

the outfit along whilst walking foruuurd.

I claim:

1. A nuematic tamping machine having a tamping tool and a loose reciprocating piston: striking againstithetool, a power outfit proper to the tamping machine and comprising an internal combustion engine with all accessories and a pulsator for producing the air columns for actuating the said piston, acarriage supporting the said outfit and movable along the heads of the rails of thera-ilroad, the arrangement and. dimensions of theoutfit and'carriage of said outfit remaining within thesaid standard clearance between the ties and train.

2. A combination as described in -claim in which the carriage supporting the internal combustion engine,itsaccessories and the pulsator consists of a low sled, the sled having a draft member for the dragging of same along the sleepers of the railroad, and rollers for guiding the sled along the heads of the rails.

In. witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presenceof two witnesses.

HEINRICH CHRISTIANSEN.

Witnesses:

HERMAN BENlI-IIN, Hum-rm Ronwnnum 

